


Calling the Shots

by a1_kitkat



Series: Fictober 2020 [19]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Illegal Activities, M/M, Not Fluff, Prompt Fill, and a lot of Jealous Michael, for like a paragraph, forlex, mostly just talking, not smutt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27100549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: During an illegal trade for Alien tech, the seller becomes suspicious of the buyers nerves, causing Alex to think on his feet and pretend that he and Max are actually a couple. Forced to kiss at gunpoint, Michael witnesses the kiss and his jealousy flares.Michael begins to evaluate his feelings for Alex... Who's already move on.PROMPT USED - GUNPOINT (sorta)
Relationships: Forrest Long/Alex Manes, Max Evans & Alex Manes, Michael Guerin & Alex Manes
Series: Fictober 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947391
Comments: 27
Kudos: 44





	Calling the Shots

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moviesbuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moviesbuff/gifts).



> A few things of note-
> 
> * this is tagged Forlex but Forrest barely appears. Just acknowledging that Alex is dating Forrest here
> 
> * it’s ex-Malex but Michael still has feels

“No, uh-uh, no way, not happening!”

Michael folded his arms across his chest and actually pouted while glaring at Max. Max was, of course, used to these outbursts and simply rolled his eyes before he cast an exasperated look at Alex.

“It’s been _three days_ and we’re just arguing in circles.” Alex injected.

“Because neither of you will listen to reason.” Michael snapped.

“You’re the one being unreasonable, Michael.” Max stated.

“It’s too dangerous. I’m not letting Alex risk his life for us-” Michael started.

“Oh, you won’t _let me_?” Alex interrupted. “Last I checked, _you_ had absolutely zero say in what I do.”

“Alex is the one who found and bartered for what we need. The sale, the transaction, the acquisition can’t happen without him.” Max explained.

“And it was all done covertly, through email and text. These guys wouldn’t know me from him, _I’ll_ go and _say_ I’m Alex.” Michael insisted.

“You can’t be trusted, Michael, you’re too… hot headed. Things go south, you’ll immediately default to your powers and expose us.” Max said. “You’ll compromise the mission.”

“But _you_ won’t?” Michael glared at Max.

“Max has similar training to me,” Alex defended Max. “He was a cop, knows how to pull off a good poker face… He looks the part.”

“ _He looks the part_?” Michael repeated.

“For the lies I spun, yeah… We couldn’t exactly tell these guys we’re hunting a runaway alien.”

Michael continued to huff before looking to the corner where Isobel had been eerily quiet during the entire debate. He knew she wasn’t happy at the idea of being sidelined from this mission yet she hadn’t fought for Michael’s side of the argument.

“Come on, Iz, I know you’re just itching to say something,” Michael pressed.

“I’m sorry but I agree with them.” Isobel stated. “The less people involved the better and Alex has more training for this type of thing than all three of us combined.”

Alex side-eyed her; it was the closest thing he’d 

ever gotten to a compliment from her.

“If anyone can pull _this_ off, it’s Max and Alex.” She added.

“Fine!” Michael snapped, not willing to argue with her. “But we’re following in another car _and_ will be tracking every step, every word, every breath.”

“It’ll all be fine, Michael, I promise.” Max insisted.

*

Max was very quiet during the drive to the location they’d arranged the meet. Alex knew he was a generally quiet person but it was unsettling and he, himself, was too nervous to ask if he was okay.

Maybe it was just the stereotypical suitcase of money on the back seat of the car or the fact what they were doing was illegal and Max used to be a cop. If Alex got caught, his punishment would be a court martial. Max still couldn’t believe Alex would risk his career _again_ for him… them… _this_.

They drove for a long time; Alex could just see the headlights from Michael’s truck in the far distance. They’d argued about him and Isobel following them, not wanting to put either of them in danger but had gotten nowhere.

Max pulled off the main road and through the back streets for a bit until they found the location they’d been given. Both climbed out of the car, Max grabbed the bag of money, they headed inside the warehouse.

It was deserted but that was part of the plan. Max and Alex arriving fifteen minutes early was just from nerves on their part. Alex was much more at ease than Max was expecting, he definitely knew how to hold himself. Not for the first time, Max was thankful Michael hadn’t come with them… He’d blow their cover in no time.

Max wandered aimlessly; the bag of money slung over his shoulder as he looked around. They both heard the car at the same time and turned to look at each other. Alex gave a hand signal and Max nodded, moved closer to Alex.

Two cars pulled up outside, Alex watched them from the window but Max’s gaze shifted to the upper floor where he could just make out the silhouettes of Michael and Isobel. Without thinking, he reached for Alex’s arm. The door opened and no less than seven men walked into the warehouse just as Alex tried to break free of Max’s hold.

“You’re late,” Alex addressed the one he assumed to be the boss.

“I like to keep buyers on their toes, make sure they’re legit… you know?” He replied.

“Legit? I’m just impatient.” Alex snapped.

“Don’t rile him up,” Max hissed at him.

“Shhhh,” Alex tried to silence Max.

“Is that any way to speak to your business partner?” The boss asked Alex, his eyes shifting between the two men.

Max’s eyes were focused on the men behind the boss, all of them were holding guns in their hands. He reached for Alex’s arm again but Alex shook him off.

“What’s going on here?” The boss narrowed his eyes at them. “Why is your associate so jittery? Are you a narc?”

Alex laughed and shook his head but Max’s heart was racing. He’d never been great at undercover work.

“It’s nothing like that,” Alex waved his hand, dismissively. “And he’s not my associate, he’s my _boyfriend_. It’s why he’s so jumpy, he thinks you’re just gonna shoot us both and take the cash… and he doesn’t want to die. We just had quite the, uh, lover’s quarrel about this right before you showed up.”

“You and _him_?” The boss looked quite doubtful, his gaze once again shifting between Alex and Max.

Alex took a step closer to Max and grasped his hand as he continued to stare the boss down.

“Going on nearly two years,” Alex added. “What? You don’t believe me?”

“I really don’t.” He replied as he pulled his own gun on them. “Unless you two want to just kiss and make up right now… Or we’ll shoot you both and worry about which of you is wearing a wire later…”

Alex had purposely avoided looking at Max up until now but they were so close to getting what they needed and running away from here. He hadn’t consulted him on this lie; the last thing he wanted to do was _kiss Max_ and in front of Michael…

Before Alex could even glance at Max, he felt him tugging on his arm. Alex was pulled into Max’s arms and the other man was kissing him. He couldn’t protest because they had a story to sell but he didn’t have to open his mouth to Max’s probing tongue… yet he did. His arm sneaked around Max’s neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss until he forgot about the men pointing guns at them.

In the rafters above, Michael’s hand slipped as he gasped in shock. Isobel caught him before he could fall to his death but the two of them just stared at Max and Alex. Michael wanted to snap the necks of every man holding a gun on them. Isobel wished she could reach her phone to be capturing video evidence of the kiss.

When they finally parted, Alex was gasping for breath but the boss was laughing at them. He was nodding his head as he indicated for the exchange to go ahead. One of his lackey’s stepped forward and handed over the tech they needed while Max handed over the bag of money.

It wasn’t until the bags had been exchanged, opened and checked that Max let out a small breath of relief. Alex held his ground and even waved at the group as they all backed away, leaving the warehouse. Max immediately sank to his knees, unable to believe they’d actually done it.

Alex grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, hissed they needed to get out of there. He dragged Max out the back way and over to their waiting car. They climbed in and Alex waited until he spotted Michael and Isobel hurrying out too before he started the car and drove off.

“Alex! What about Michael and Isobel?” Max protested.

“They followed in Michael’s truck, they’ll be fine,” Alex replied.

“But why the hurry to… oh…”

“Let’s just not talk about it, okay?”

“It was just a kiss, Alex… A kiss that saved both our lives.”

Alex gripped the steering wheel that little bit tighter. He knew Max was right, that it had been necessary in the moment but he couldn’t imagine what Michael would be feeling right now. He wasn’t even sure how to handle it himself. Of course, he didn’t have feelings for Max but should he tell Forrest they’d kissed? No, because then he’d have to explain the _how_ and the _why_.

“You really don’t think Michael will want to punch you after that?” Alex asked him.

“Why should he even care?” Max replied. “You’re with Forrest. It’s not his place to be jealous… Unless…” he paused. “Do you _want_ him to be?”

“Max!”

“I mean… do you?”

“What I want is to not have this conversation with you, okay?”

Max immediately fell silent but he continued to observe Alex. When his phone began to ring, he pulled it from his pocket and sighed when he saw Michael’s name on the screen. He answered the call and raised the phone to his ear but Alex plucked it from his grasp.

“It all went to plan… no, we’re not going to pull over… hang up the phone and just drive, Guerin,” Alex stated before handing the phone back to Max.

He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything. Michael still had a way of getting under Alex’s skin.

They continued in silence for a ways until Max finally had to ask him something.

“Am I a good kisser?” 

Alex slammed on the breaks and looked at Max in absolute disbelief.

“I’m sorry, what?” Alex asked.

“I, uh, I know it was life or death back there but… I mean… Was I okay?” Max asked him.

Alex’s first instinct was to laugh but Max looked so shy, nervous. He smiled more to himself as he turned back to the road and continued driving.

“Honestly? It wasn’t the worst kiss I ever had,” Alex told him. “And… between you and me… Liz never had any complaints about your kissing and neither did Jenna.”

“You talked to Liz and Jenna about stuff like that?”

“It’s not like I had anyone else to talk to…”

Max politely looked away to avoid seeing the hurt in Alex’s eyes. Michael had really hurt him, so had Maria but Alex would _never_ admit that. He was too selfless. They fell back into silence for the rest of the drive home but when Alex pulled up at Max’s place, he declined to come inside. It was late and Alex needed to get home. He waited for Max to reach the porch before he drove away. 

Michael and Isobel passed Alex’s car as it headed in the opposite direction and Isobel grabbed Michael’s hand to make sure _he_ didn’t follow him. They needed to get to Max’s place. He was waiting on the porch for them and the three of them went inside.

Isobel grabbed the bag and peered inside at the piece of alien tech Alex had secured for them. None of them knew what it was, how it worked, where it had come from… just that it was rightly _theirs_ and would hopefully help them find Mr Jones again.

“It’s nothing,” Isobel stated as she stared into the bag. “This is what you risked your lives for?”

“This is what you _kissed Alex_ for?” Michael snapped at him.

“ _Michael_!” Isobel hissed. She turned to Max. “It’s all he mumbled about for the _entire_ drive back here.” She closed the bag, her eyes shifting from Max to Michael then back again. “I’m going to… be somewhere that’s not here…”

She bustled out of the room, leaving Max and Michael staring at each other. Michael was practically shaking with anger but Max didn’t know what to say.

“You kissed _Alex_ ,” Michael snapped.

“I know, I was there,” Max replied.

“ _Alex_ , Max! Of all the guys in Roswell, the planet, the galaxy-”

“Did you not see the men holding guns on us? What else was I supposed to do?”

“ _Not_ kiss Alex!”

“Do you even hear yourself right now? Alex called the shots, he took the lead, he tried to sell the lie that we were in a relationship… I just tried to make it believable… and hey it worked because we got what we needed and we’re still alive.”

“There had to be another-”

“The guy with the gun told us to kiss and make up so we did… and I’m sorry but why do you even care? You were running around town with your tongue down Maria’s throat for months, you have no right to be upset about who Alex kisses these days.”

“You know how I felt… feel… what he means to me; you shouldn’t be kissing him.”

“And didn’t Maria know what you meant to him…?”

Michael grabbed a fistful of Max’s shirt and glared into his eyes.

“This has nothing to do with her,” Michael insisted. “Maria and I are over.”

“So are you and Alex,” Max replied.

His words earned him a punch in the face but Max had been expecting it, knew he went too far in goading Michael. It was damn clear that Michael still had feelings for Alex but maybe those feelings were only one sided these days.

“How dare you say that, Max!” Michael hissed at him.

“I’m sorry if the truth hurts, Michael, but Alex is with someone else and there’s nothing _you_ can do about it.”

Michael raised his fist, clearly intending to hit Max again but Isobel appeared in time to stop him. She could feel the tension in the room and immediately snapped at them to pull it together. Michael released Max, shoved past him and right out the front door.

“He’ll be okay,” Isobel said to Max in an oddly upbeat tone.

“Will he, though?” Max replied. “Come on, let’s see what this device can teach us.”

*

Michael drove back to his airstream and downed an entire six pack of beer. He didn’t sleep, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t shake the memory of Max and Alex kissing. Is that what it was like for Alex these days? Did he see Michael and Maria kissing in his mind every time he looked at either of them?

It was just after six in the morning when Michael stumbled back into his truck and headed for Alex’s place. He pulled into the yard and fell out of the cab, just sitting on his ass in the driveway. Michael pulled himself to his feet then made his way to the front door.

Michael knocked once then twice then three times but there was no answer. He knocked again and again but still no answer. Michael used his telekinesis to unlock the front door and he went inside.

He didn’t call out but made his way through the house to Alex’s bedroom, pushed the door open and paused. Alex’s bed was empty, not slept in. Michael immediately began to panic as multiple scenarios ran through his head, of the sellers following Alex home and taking him.

He reached for his phone but it wasn’t in his pocket. Michael stumbled back out to his truck to search for his phone there but no luck. Muttering to himself he looked for his keys but couldn’t find them either. He went back inside, thinking he may have dropped his keys and he heard Alex’s phone ringing.

Michael stared at the phone, he knew he shouldn’t but he reached for it and picked it up.

“Hello?” Michael greeted the caller.

“What are you doing in my house, Guerin?” Alex replied.

“Looking for you, are you okay?”

“Stay there, wait for me… and don’t touch anything!”

The line went dead so Michael put the phone down, walked over to the couch and collapsed on top of it. He promptly fell asleep.

*

Alex knew Michael had been drinking the second he stepped inside. He slowly walked over to him and gently shook him awake.

“Guerin?” Alex hissed. “Get up.”

Michael jerked away and looked into Alex’s unamused eyes.

“Alex! You’re okay!” Michael exclaimed with relief as he climbed to his feet.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I… I was worried and I came over and your bed hadn’t been slept in and you weren’t here and-”

“Why were you worried?”

“I… After… I mean…”

“Guerin?”

“How did you know I was here?” Michael asked him.

“Security system, the camera is linked to my phone. I got an alert of a break in and saw you on the screen.”

“Why weren’t you here? I thought something had happened to you!”

“ _Something_? My whereabouts are none of your business, Guerin. Why don’t you bother someone else at this ungodly hour? Maria kick you out of bed again?”

“We, uh, I, um, thought you knew that…” he paused. “We’re… spending less time together… seeing other people.”

“I’m… sorry to hear that,” Alex said to him.

“Are you?”

“What?”

“ _Are you_ sorry?”

“Guerin?”

Michael climbed to his feet and looked at Alex.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Okay? I’m sorry for… what I did, how I hurt you and pushed you away and-”

“Guerin, I don’t want to talk about this… not right now and not with _you_.”

“Alex-”

“Is this because of last night? Did seeing me kissing another guy give you a sudden epiphany or something?”

“I know there’s nothing going on between you and Max… But… well… Maria and I have been over for some time now and… okay, yeah, seeing you and Max… it got to me… made me realize that I don’t… don’t want you to be with someone else… I… I want you to be with _me_.”

“It doesn’t work like that, Guerin.” Alex folded his arms across his chest. “You don’t get to decide when the time is right or when it isn’t. You don’t get to call the shots! Decide the timing is right for you because you’re jealous.”

“Alex-”

“You want to know why I wasn’t home this morning? Why my bed wasn’t slept in?” Alex pushed. “It’s because I was in someone else’s bed. I’m seeing someone; he’s sweet, kind, caring, respectful; he treats me right and he cares about me…”

“Alex, please? What I did-”

“I _don’t_ want to hear it, Michael. I’m falling in love with him.”

“No; you can’t be… You and I are…”

“What? _Meant_ to be together? Now that you’ve decided it’s time? You had your chance, I stood in your airstream and poured my heart out to you and you ran off, chose to be with someone else… Well, now it’s _my_ turn to make decisions for myself and I’m choosing _him…_ Choosing Forrest because-”

“No!”

“I can see a future with him, Michael. You’re the one who didn’t want a future with me… So, do us both a favour and leave, right now.”

“Fine,” Michael snapped. “But I’m not just going to give you up without a fight.”

“Yeah, you are… You gave up on us a long time ago and you can’t undo it… Now get out and never break into my home again!”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a beat until Michael pushed past Alex, marched towards the front door. Alex followed close behind, ready to close the door behind him.

“This isn’t the end of our story, Alex,” Michael insisted.

“Yeah, it is,” Alex said as he pushed the door closed. “It is.”

The second he clicked the lock into place, Alex reached for his phone and called Forrest who answered on the second ring.

“Did you single-handedly take down the intruder?” Forrest greeted him. “Wrangle and hogtie him?”

“Something like that,” Alex replied. “Sorry I ran out in such a rush like that.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“I can make it up to you, maybe over breakfast?”

“Sounds like a date.”

“Usual place? Twenty minutes?”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

Alex ended the call, smiling to himself, determined not to think about Michael. He had a breakfast date to get ready for and he was going to enjoy every second of it… every second of every minute he spent with Forrest for the rest of his life.


End file.
